Dongkuk Steel delays takeover bid for Ssangyong E&C

By Nam Kwang-sik
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- Dongkuk Steel Mill Co., South Korea's third-largest
steelmaker, said Tuesday that its board has decided to delay its takeover bid for
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co. for at least one year.
Dongkuk Steel will ask creditors of the builder for leeway on the takeover bid
due to severe economic conditions, the steel maker said in a regulatory filing.
Dongkuk Steel has failed to narrow differences over the takeover price with the
state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. (KAMCO) since July when a consortium led
by the steelmaker was chosen as a preferred bidder for the builder, industry
sources said.
Creditors of Ssangyong Engineering & Construction have been seeking to sell a
50.07 percent stake in the builder, which has been put on the block since 2005.
The selling price was estimated to be between 350 billion won (US$349 million)
and 500 billion won.
Ssangyong Engineering, a former construction arm of Ssangyong Group, was released
from a creditor-led debt workout program in October 2004, nearly six years after
the program started.
Ssangyong is 50.1 percent jointly owned by nine creditors. The state asset
management company has the largest stake of 38.8 percent, followed by the
Ssangyong employees' association which owns a 18.9 percent stake.
ksnam@yna.co.kr
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